Myanmar Authorities Torch $446 Million Worth Of Illegal Drugs, Images Show

Myanmar authorities on Monday incinerated over $446 million worth of illegal drugs to mark the United Nations’ (U.N.) International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The destroyed drugs included opium, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, kratom, ketamine and crystal meth, according to AP. Authorities in the city of Yangon reportedly burned a pile of seized drugs and precursor chemicals worth $207 million. Officials also torched drugs in two other cities, Mandalay and Taunggyi, which are located closer to drug production and distribution hubs in the country, according to AP.

Officials in the country seized and burned $642 million in illegal drugs in 2022, the outlet reported.

Myanmar, mired in violent political conflict between pro-democracy groups and the military junta which seized power in 2021, is grappling with spiraling drug production, according to AP. A recent UN report on opium poppy cultivation in the Southeast Asian country showed that during the 2022 season there was “an increase of 33% in cultivation area to 40,100 hectares, and an 88% increase in potential yield to 790 metric tonnes,” up from a 2% increase in cultivation area and a 4% increase in potential yield in 2021. By contrast, opium cultivation was on a six-year decline as of 2020, according to the report. (RELATED: STUDY: New Mexico Has Biggest Drug Problem In US)

Myanmar’s opiate economy stood at $660 million to $2.0 billion in 2022, even as the country was caught in soaring inflation and weakened purchasing power, the full survey reads. A combination of the COVID-19-related economic crisis and the military takeover could have driven many more rural families into mass cultivation of opium, reversing the pre-COVID decline, according to the report.

Most of the illegal drugs smuggled out of Myanmar go to other Southeast Asian countries and China, according to AP.